To the football public, the news that Washington’s quarterback Dwayne Haskins had been benched after just four games in the 2020 season came as a pretty big surprise on Wednesday morning.
To anyone inside the organization in Washington, who had a first-hand look at how Haskins had committed to his job after winning the starting spot, it was just a foregone conclusion.
According to a report from The Washington Post, the work ethic that Haskins used to win the QB1 job in the first place had quickly deteriorated once the season started, and it led to growing frustration among players who had become tired of losing.
“Inside the team’s practice facility, momentum for the move had been growing, a person with knowledge of the situation said, in part because Haskins had fallen into poor study and practice habits,” wrote Les Carpenter. “The person said Haskins’ lack of preparation was hurting him in games, leading to overthrown passes and missed opportunities to hit open receivers.”
It all culminated in the Week 3 game vs. the Cleveland Browns, where Washington entered the fourth quarter with a lead on the road, holding a great chance for the upset win. However, down the stretch, Haskins’ four turnovers led to 24 of Cleveland’s 34 points, and it ended in a frustrating loss. This was seemingly the nail in the coffin, though it wouldn’t be until a week later that Haskins was eventually benched.
The concerns represented a departure from the effort Haskins had shown in winning the starting job during training camp, for which he had drawn praise from Rivera. Something seemed to happen to Haskins after winning the job, the person familiar with the situation said, and his work habits deteriorated. Another person who has seen Haskins at practice this season noticed Haskins being sloppy during pregame warm-ups, while Allen worked diligently in those same drills, even though he was unlikely to play in the game.
Players seemed to notice, as well. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that one Washington player had pushed Haskins to work harder, pointing out that Alex Smith — who hasn’t been active on gamedays but was promoted to the backup job as part of this week’s quarterback switch — had been arriving at the facility earlier than Haskins and preparing better.
The main thing that got Washington fans excited this season was hearing the news that Haskins had increased his work out efforts, dropped a bunch of weight to get into the best shape of his life, and completely bought into his craft, dedicating himself to be the franchise QB that everyone was looking for. It appears that, according to this report, he grew complacent once that starting job was his, and ended up letting it slip through his fingers.
Maybe this will be a wake-up call for him. Maybe he will learn from this and eventually get a second chance to lead Washington to victory down the road. Maybe he’ll be sent to a new team where he can try this all over again.
Whatever the case may be, it’s clear that the young QB still has a lot to learn about life in the NFL.
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